


By Crest's Light

by TheGrammarHawk



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Dreams and Nightmares, Epilogue, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Neglect, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War, Sequel, Spoilers, Starvation, Trauma, take your pick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21723295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGrammarHawk/pseuds/TheGrammarHawk
Summary: The war won't end for good until Ferdinand is found.Epilogue/Sequel forChamomile over Coffee
Relationships: Caspar von Bergliez/Linhardt von Hevring, Dorothea Arnault/Petra Macneary/Bernadetta von Varley, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 242





	By Crest's Light

**Author's Note:**

> Like said in the summary, [Chamomile over Coffee](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21715513) is required to read before this! It's short, however, so it's very much worth your time!
> 
> i'm babey i really couldn't just leave yall hangin huh

It was dark. Strange technology was the only source of meager light to be found. Hubert looked around, squinting at it, it was… eerily familiar. He had most certainly seen it before, but when…?

Right. It made sense, really. Had he known two months ago that his nightmare would have so accurately reflected Shambala, he would have taken notes.

But this time, he wasn’t alone. This time, his friends were at his side. Edelgard and Byleth were as serious as ever, having been almost as anxious as Hubert for the past months. Caspar hadn’t let go of Linhardt’s hand since they had descended beneath the earth to Shambala, a fair reaction when Linhardt, too, had very nearly been abducted two weeks prior. The Slither that had attempted it was not nearly as learned as the one that had replaced Ferdinand, it seemed. Caspar hadn’t even been thrown into a sleep spell before _they_ tried to take Linhardt. _They_ had assumed that Caspar would have been much easier to get past than Hubert, what with his lack of magic and knowledge regarding the threat that slithered in the dark.

They had been devastatingly wrong, and Linhardt hadn’t left Caspar’s sight since.

Petra and Dorothea remained on either side of Bernadetta, who had been an invaluable asset to Hubert as of late. With even more reason to validate her fears of being followed, given she bore the crest of Indech, Hubert went straight to work at tailing her stalker.

 _They_ would never be cut out for abducting Bernadetta, Hubert realized. The woman was more aware of her shadow than Hubert was, following. It was all too easy to ambush the Agarthan from behind and the front.

Between the information gathered from their prisoner and Hubert’s ability to trace the blood that had been spilled on his desk, it was only a matter of time before they located Ferdinand’s whereabouts.

If only it hadn’t been Shambala itself. Now they had to split their forces, with the majority of them going to hunt down Thales while Caspar and Linhardt would accompany Hubert to where Ferdinand had to be located.

Hubert wasn’t sure whether or not he was thankful for the absence of screams. It surely would have made finding him easier, but at what cost?

Knowing that the eight of them had to split up to achieve their goals, rules had been established. Everyone without a crest had to accompany someone with a crest at all times in order to properly assure their identities. Linhardt served that purpose for Hubert and Caspar, as well as being there in case Ferdinand needed immediate healing, which was… a non-zero chance. Edelgard and Byleth would doubtless be glued to each other, especially now that their ex-professor no longer bore a crest; Bernadetta would be with Petra and Dorothea should the five of them need to split up.

The upside to having Linhardt with him meant that, as stated before, Ferdinand could acquire immediate medical attention.

The downside was that meant Caspar simply had to tag along, and he was _not_ the best choice for any mission that required subtlety.

Needless to say, the further into the depths of Shambala the three of them went, the more corpses dotted the floor from Caspar’s hit-first, think-second attitude. They would not be getting information this way.

Not that it turned out they needed it. Linhardt’s face twisted as they rounded a corner, hand moving to cover his nose.

Hubert hardly noticed the change, but Caspar voiced it quite easily: “Ugh, you’re right, Lin. It _reeks_ of blood down here, like Tailtean Plains levels of blood…”

Hubert slipped the skeleton door key Byleth had purchased from his pocket, approaching the only door in the hall.

Caspar darted in from under him immediately, ready to destroy any guards that would oppose them. At the silence, Linhardt peeked around Hubert’s figure from where he stood, rigid.

There was only one person in the room, and that was the man chained to an iron chair.

His long hair was limp and matted with blood and sweat, hanging in his face. He wore no shirt, exposing a now paler torso, thinner than it should have been, with freckled wrists chained behind the back of the chair.

The chair itself was sitting in what appeared to be a small tub full of the blood that was dripping, more viscous than ink, from numerous wounds on his body.

“There’s no guards! What the hell?”

The figure flinched at Caspar’s voice, a small groan of pain from moving as he lifted his head sharply, turned to where the voice had come.

Hubert’s heart ached at how dull those eyes were, but it broke in half when stepping forward caused the prisoner to lean away, undeniable fear coating his expression.

“Ferdinand…”

“How many times have I, have I told you to just _kill_ me?” Ferdinand spat, bracing against the chains. He snapped his head back and away from Hubert’s hand when he went to touch his face.

“They must have pretended to be us when they… did this,” Linhardt mused darkly, slower as he came forward than the other two men. Careful, he came to stand in front of Ferdinand, leaning over in his attempt to look him in the eyes.

“Pay attention, now. I don’t have limitless energy to pull this up every time you need to see it,” Linhardt lied, as though he wouldn’t reassure Ferdinand time and time again who he was as the crest of Cethleann lit up in his palm.

Ferdinand stared with wide eyes, much the look of a cornered animal, before glancing over to Caspar, and then settling his gaze on Hubert.

Tears filled his eyes, and this time he did not move away when Hubert cupped his face in his hands, kissing them away.

Caspar made quick work of the chains, snapping them easily after a fire spell from Linhardt softened the metal. As soon as Ferdinand was released, he was in Hubert’s arms.

Which was worrying in itself, since Hubert had never been strong enough to lift Ferdinand fully before.

Immediately Linhardt lit his hands with the soft golden glow of healing magic, working to close the open wounds along Ferdinand’s trembling body. When as many as possible were sealed, Caspar took the initiative to unclasp Hubert’s cloak from the back and cover him with it, Linhardt taking down his hair in order to pull all of Ferdinand’s from out of his face.

“Y-You… you all… you all came, you _found_ me…”

Hubert rested his forehead against Ferdinand’s, frowning at the heat of it. “I never stopped looking.”

Ferdinand tucked his head into the crook of Hubert’s neck, shivering as he clutched Hubert’s shirt. Caspar threw Linhardt a particularly worried glance, prompting the healer to speak his mind.

“It… _appears_ that _they_ have been… harvesting his blood for the past months. Likely the fate that… would have happened to Flayn, if we had not found her sooner, back at the academy, and if Jeritza had handed her over as he likely was supposed to do. Regardless, he’s lost a _lot_ of blood, enough that improper care would easily lead to his death. _They_ have probably only been feeding and healing him just enough to keep him alive. Something tells me that any infections were simply ignored… but with proper rest and monitoring, he’ll get better. He’ll be okay.”

Relief swept through Hubert’s body, and from the way Caspar seemed to relax, he was relieved as well.

They had Ferdinand. He was _alive_. Doubtless Edelgard and Byleth would be able to take down Thales.

Finally, it was all going to be over.

***

Peace doesn’t come all at once. It takes more time for the mind and heart to heal than the body.

Hubert knew that better than almost anyone, after waking up with a start from _another_ nightmare.

The covers were neat upon his bed. All of the armor in the room was where it belonged. No candle was burning, no papers were scattered, and no blood masquerading as ink was dripping off their desk.

Most importantly, Ferdinand was warm and half-asleep himself where he was in Hubert’s arms.

“Mm,” Ferdinand shifted slightly, pushing himself up a little as he looked over at Hubert, “did… you have another bad dream?”

Ferdinand’s hair was clean and silky again, braided down for the night. Though his hands and face were still thinner than normal, they still looked and felt of _him_ , of Ferdinand von Aegir, of the man Hubert loved.

It had been several months since the war was truly at its end, and Ferdinand was almost entirely healthy again, even if his mind was still heavily plagued by the horrors he had experienced. Edelgard seemed to be able to help with that, giving him someone he could talk to that truly understood how it felt.

With the way his eyes were warm and hazy from sleep, the way one of his ankles was trapped between Hubert’s legs, it was almost easy to forget everything that had happened.

Almost.

“Yes,” Hubert admitted, dipping his head to Ferdinand’s shoulder where it rested, allowing Ferdinand to press a kiss, tender, to his eyelids, one by one.

“I’d fetch you some chamomile,” Ferdinand soothed, soft, “but I still wouldn’t trust myself to quite make it without dropping a cup or stumbling along the way. I’ll have to offer this, instead.”

One hand gently tracing Hubert’s hair line, Ferdinand produced his other from under the sheets, a small flickering glow illuminating the room as Cichol’s crest appeared.

Hubert sank further into Ferdinand’s body in return, allowing himself to relish the quiet humming in his ear as Ferdinand fell back asleep, the notes dropping off as he did, certain that he had alleviated Hubert’s fears.

Hubert stroked his thumb over Ferdinand’s cheek, kissing him before he let himself close his eyes again.

The war was over.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this suffices for a more happy ending! The boys are safe and sound, and will continue to heal. <3
> 
> kudos and comments are always wonderful!!


End file.
